Axial gas turbines typically contain rows of turbine blades, referred to as stages, coupled to disks that rotate on a rotor assembly. The turbine blades extend radially and terminate in turbine blade tips. Ring seal segments are positioned radially outward from the turbine blade tips, but in close proximity to the tips of the turbine blades to limit gases from passing through the gap created between the turbine blade tips and the inner surfaces of the ring seal segments. The gaps between the turbine blade tips and the ring seal segments are designed to be as small as possible between the blade tips and the surrounding segment because the larger that gap, the more inefficient the turbine engine.
The size of the gap between the tips of the turbine blades and the ring seal segments must account for the turbine blades and the ring seal segments being formed from materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion. As a turbine engine begins to heat up during startup procedures, the length of the turbine blades increases radially outward while the ring seal segments move radially outward as well. The gap may change during the thermal growth. Thus, the gap is sized such that at steady state operating conditions in which the turbine blades are heated to an operating temperature, the gap is a small as possible without risking significant damage from the tips contacting the ring seal segments. However, as the gap is reduced, the incidences of rubbing between the turbine blade tips and the outer ring seal increases.
Attempts have been made to minimize the clearance gap to improve efficiency while avoiding excessive wear on the turbine blade tips. For instance, some conventional turbine engines include thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) on the ring seal segments that are designed to abrade when contacted by the blade tips. The TBCs also insulate the underlying turbine components from the hot gases present during operation, which may be approximately 2500 degrees Fahrenheit. Use of the TBCs can keep the underlying turbine component generally at temperature of less than approximately 1800 degrees Fahrenheit.
While the gap between the tips of the turbine blade and the ring seal segments may be designed to enable smooth startup from a cold engine, problems are typically encountered during a warm restart. In particular, a warm restart occurs when a turbine engine running at steady state operating temperatures is shut down, allowed to cool for two to three hours, and then restarted. During the restart, the turbine blade tips often contact the abradable coating on the ring seal segments because during the shut down period turbine disks remain hot and thermally expanded radially, while the thermally insulated turbine shroud ring has cooled and retracted somewhat, thereby reducing the gap. With the gap reduced, the turbine blade tips often contact the abradable coating.
Abradable coatings are designed such that when contacted by a turbine blade, a portion of the coating will break away to prevent damage to the turbine blade. A problem that is widespread with abradable coatings is that the coatings generally sinter after exposure to turbine engine operating temperatures of about 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit after about 50 to 100 hours. Sintering of the abradable coating significantly reduces the abradable coatings ability to shear when contacted by tips of turbine blades. For instance, as shown in FIG. 1, abradable coatings greatly lose their ability to shear when contacted by tips of turbine blades with greater and greater exposure to turbine engine operating temperatures. In particular, FIG. 1 illustrates the impact of sintering on the abradability of a conventional abradable coating, 79% dense 8YSZ, 8YSZ refers to 8 weight percent yttria stabilized zirconia, which is a common TBC in both aero and IGT engines. The coating exhibited an abradability volume wear ratio (VWR) of 34 (coating wear/blade wear, where larger values are better) prior to exposure to elevated temperatures. After the same coating was exposed to approximately 2000 degrees Fahrenheit for 200 hours, the VWR declined to nine. The VWR declined to seven when exposed to approximately 2200 degrees Fahrenheit for 200 hours. Finally, the VWR was two after exposure to approximately 2375 degrees Fahrenheit for 200 hours. Thus, the usefulness of an abradable coating is nearly negated once sintered. Therefore, a need exists for an abradable coating system capable of shearing when contacted by turbine blade tips even if a portion of the abradable coating has sintered.